


The Note

by paladinpeterparker



Category: Anne of Green Gables (TV 1985) & Related Fandoms, Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Shirbert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 14:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paladinpeterparker/pseuds/paladinpeterparker
Summary: Valentine's Day in Avonlea turns out very different from what Anne and Gilbert expected after Anne finds a note from a secret admirer on her desk.





	The Note

“Diana, don’t you think Valentine’s Day is just so romantical?” Anne asked.  
Diana and Anne were walking to the schoolhouse that day, and despite the fact that they were trudging through snow, freezing cold, they were in high spirits.  
“Indeed,” Diana said. “I love Valentine’s Day. It’s always so much fun.”  
“I’ve always wanted to have someone confess their unfaltering love for me on Valentine’s Day. Wouldn’t that be just so romantic?” Anne sighed, lost in her mind once more, imagining all the wonderful ways one could confess their love on such a day as this.  
“By someone, do you mean...Gilbert Blythe?” Diana asked, raising an eyebrow at Anne.  
“Diana!” Anne said, tugging at one of her awful red braids and looking around. At the mention of his name, Anne felt a blush on her cheeks, though she had no idea why. “Don’t say that! You know I don’t like him in that way. And, of course, it would upset Ruby to hear us talking about him like that. You know she’s liked him for the longest time.”  
Diana gave Anne a knowing smile. “Ruby may have liked him for the longest time, but he only seems to like _you_.”  
“No!” Anne exclaimed, crossing her arms. “He-” she huffed, “he doesn’t like me!”  
“Right. Sure.” Diana looked away from Anne, laughing slightly to herself.  
The schoolhouse came into view, and Anne felt a sense of relief. Once they arrived at school, Diana would have to stop pestering her about Gilbert Blythe.  
“We should hurry to school,” Anne said, looking over at Diana. “We don’t want to be tardy, right?”  
“Of course,” Diana replied. “Besides, you never know. Gilbert might be waiting for you inside so he can confess his love before school starts.”  
“You are _not_ funny, Diana!” Anne said, clasping her hands together in front of her.  
“Well, when Gilbert finally admits he has a crush on you, both Cole and I get to say ‘I told you so.’” Diana grinned.  
Anne rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Diana. Gilbert and I are nothing more than friends.”  
The two of them had reached the schoolhouse. For some reason, as she looked up at the building, Anne felt a flutter in her stomach. Despite all the reasons why it couldn’t happen, Anne couldn’t help but wonder if someone could possibly like her enough to confess their love. She wasn’t sure why she was nervous, though. It’s not like she was hoping anyone in particular would admit their affections, right?

\--

The first part of the day was quite uneventful, and Anne found it disappointing that nothing romantical had happened at all. Lunch was almost over, and Anne and all of her friends were engrossed in a conversation about the possible displays of affection that could occur.  
“If someone confesses their love to me, I want it to be in the grandest way possible,” Josie said, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. “I want flowers, and a song, and maybe even a cake.”  
“As long as it was Gilbert Blythe confessing his love to me,” Ruby said, her eyes wide, “I wouldn’t mind how he did it.”  
Diana smiled at the group. “I would probably just want something simple. I think flowers would be nice.”  
All the girls nodded their heads in agreement, except Anne, who looked like she was lost in thought.  
“Anne?” Diana said, snapping Anne out of her thoughts. “What about you?”  
“Oh,” Anne said, frowning. “I don’t...know.”  
Diana thought that Anne’s lack of an answer was odd. Usually, Anne would have given them a long-winded explanation of exactly what her ideal admission of love would look like, but she clearly had something else on her mind. Before she could ask Anne about it, though, they heard Miss Stacy announcing the end of lunch.  
The girls packed up their baskets and stood up. Diana and Anne took down the curtain, and as they were folding it up, something caught Diana’s eye.  
“Anne,” Diana said, looking over at her friend. “What’s that piece of paper on your desk?”  
Anne frowned, squinting at the piece of paper. “I don’t know. It wasn’t there before lunch.”  
Diana set the curtain down, and the two of them walked over to the desk, reeled in by curiosity.  
Anne reached for the piece of paper and picked it up. It had been folded in half and set so that it couldn’t be read by someone simply walking by. Anne unfolded the note and read the writing on it:

_Anne,_  
It seems that you have always been one for romance, so I believe that there would be no better time to confess my feelings for you than on this Valentine’s Day.  
Perhaps the idea of an anonymous admirer will make you wary of this note, but I urge you to consider otherwise.  
If you will allow me to share my feelings for you, come to the clearing in the woods behind the schoolhouse as soon as school ends.  
It is up to you.  
Happy Valentine’s Day,  
Your Secret Admirer 

Anne looked up from the note, a frown on her face. She folded the paper up again, not wanting anyone else to see it.  
“What does it say?” Diana asked, intrigued. “Who is it from?”  
“It’s from a secret admirer,” Anne replied. “They want me to meet them in the woods behind the schoolhouse so they can confess their love.”  
Diana’s eyes widened. “How romantic! You’re going to meet them, I assume?”  
Anne sighed. “What if this is some kind of joke, Diana? Why would someone like me?”  
“Don’t be silly, Anne!” Diana said. “There are so many reasons why someone would like you. I think you should go meet this ‘secret admirer.’ It could be the person you like.” Diana’s eyes shifted to the door, where Gilbert and his friends had just walked into the schoolhouse.  
Anne looked up from the note, following Diana’s gaze. As her eyes moved to look at Gilbert, he looked up at her, and their eyes met. Gilbert gave Anne a small smile, and Anne quickly turned around, looking back at the note in her hand. She was curious about the note. Diana seemed to think it was Gilbert who had written the note, but Anne wasn’t so sure. Gilbert didn’t even like her, so the notion that he would be her secret admirer was ridiculous. Plus, she wouldn’t want the admirer to be Gilbert. She didn’t like him, either. 

\--

“So you _are_ going?” Diana asked, grinning excitedly at Anne.  
The school day had ended, and the two of them stood in the schoolhouse, putting on their coats and hats. They were the last ones there, as Anne had spent a while deliberating on whether she should go or not.  
“I’ve decided that I will go,” Anne said, “but only if you go with me.”  
Diana frowned. “You would really want me there? I’d just interrupt the romance of it all.”  
Anne shook her head. “I want you there. Just in case.”  
“Fine,” Diana said. “I _am_ curious to see who this secret admirer is, anyways.”  
“Alright,” Anne said. “We should go now. The note said to meet them after school.”  
So, the two picked up their things and headed off for the clearing in the woods.  
In the forest, the snow crunched beneath their feet, and Anne found that she rather enjoyed the feeling of the February breeze against her skin, despite how cold it was. She shifted her books on her shoulder. The clearing was a relatively short walk from the school, and as they came closer to the clearing, she closed her eyes for a brief second, listening to the wind in the trees above her, the dead leaves scraping on the bark of the trees, the snow beneath their feet--  
“Diana,” Anne said, stopping suddenly. “Why do I hear voices?”  
Diana stopped too, and turned to Anne, frowning. “I don’t know. I hear them, too.”  
They approached the clearing slowly, and Anne’s heart sank when she saw some of her classmates standing in the clearing.  
They all turned as she and Diana approached, and Anne noticed Billy Andrews standing at the front of the group, a wicked smile on his face.  
“What are you doing here, Billy?” Anne snapped, clearly disappointed. It seemed that there was no secret admirer to be found.  
“I’m surprised you actually showed up,” Billy said, crossing his arms. “I thought you were much smarter than that.”  
“What are you talking about?” Diana asked, stepping forward and glaring at Billy.  
“Honestly, Anne, are you really gullible enough to believe a note from a secret admirer? You really think anyone would ever like you?” Billy let out a harsh laugh, and a few of her classmates standing behind Billy laughed along with him.  
Anne felt tears pricking at her eyes, but she wasn’t about to let Billy see her cry. Not because of this. “So it was a joke.”  
Billy smirked. “Of course it was. Why would anyone ever like you, Anne? You’re a freak.”  
Some of Billy’s friends jeered behind him, and Anne felt her resolve slipping.  
“Billy, stop! Don’t be so awful!” Diana stepped closer to Anne, hoping to comfort her.  
Billy didn’t stop. “You’re an ugly orphan, Anne. You have hair as orange as…” Billy laughed shortly. “As orange as _carrots_. You’re too focused on all those stories in your head, because you know that’s all you have.”  
“Billy, stop it!” Diana shouted, reaching out to comfort Anne.  
Anne hardly felt Diana’s hand on her arm. Her head was swimming, and now she couldn’t stop the tears from pooling in her eyes and spilling onto her cheeks.  
Billy opened his mouth to yell something else, but didn’t. It was odd. Anne noticed him looking at a spot in the woods behind her, and she turned around.  
It was, of course, Gilbert Blythe.  
“What’s going on here?” Gilbert asked, approaching the clearing.  
“Nothing,” Billy said, shrugging. “We were just having a little fun.”  
Gilbert looked over at Anne, who quickly wiped the tears off her face.  
“Are you okay?” He asked her, his voice full of concern.  
Anne felt trapped. It was as if this was all some sort of bad dream. She knew that she _had_ to get out of here.  
So, she turned and she ran.  
“Anne!” Diana called. “Where are you going?”  
Anne didn’t turn back. She just kept running. She had to get away from there.  
She heard someone running behind her, but she didn’t turn around to see who it was. She just kept running.  
“Anne, stop! Please!” It was Diana, who was trying to keep up with Anne. “Just talk to me!”  
Anne stopped suddenly and turned around. “Why, Diana? So you can convince me to go back there?”  
Diana stopped running, too. “What?” She frowned, confused.  
“You told me that it wasn’t a joke! You told me that it was possible for someone to actually like me! I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t for you!” Anne clenched her fists at her sides.  
“Anne!” Diana said, crossing her arms. “You know that this wasn’t my fault. You would have gone even if I hadn’t told you that. This was _not my fault_.”  
As Diana’s words set in, Anne felt the anger leave her body. It was as if she was deflating. “I know,” she said, her voice soft. She dropped her head, looking down at her feet. “It’s not your fault, Diana. You were just being kind, as you always are. I’m sorry.”  
Diana sighed. “Oh, Anne. I’m sorry that this happened to you. Do you want to walk home together now? I think you’ll feel better once we get you back to Green Gables.”  
Anne shook her head. “I’d like to be alone for a little bit if that’s alright. I just...don’t want to see anyone right now. I need time to think.”  
Diana nodded. “Of course. I understand.” She gave Anne a reassuring smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
Anne tried to smile back. “Yeah. I’ll see you then.”  
As soon as Diana turned away and began to walk back to where she had come from, Anne turned the other way. Her anger had all left her, leaving her to feel nothing but shame and despair. She trudged along through the woods, her feet dragging.  
After walking for a few minutes, she found a fallen tree, and she sat on its trunk. She buried her face in her hands. How had this happened? Valentine’s Day was supposed to be romantic. She was supposed to have been happy. Now, she was sitting by herself, cold and alone in the middle of the woods. The air was only becoming colder, and the sun had started to set, leading Anne to wonder how long she had been walking for.  
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a twig snap close to her. “Diana,” she said. “I told you. I want to be alone.”  
“Then I’ll only take a minute of your time,” the reply came, but it was not Diana’s voice.  
Anne looked up and sighed upon recognition of the person.  
“Gilbert. What are you doing here?”  
Gilbert smiled at Anne. “I’m sorry. I tried to follow you, but you were too fast. I met Diana on my way here, and she pointed me in the right direction. And now I’m here.”  
“ _Why_ are you here, Gilbert?” Anne crossed her arms.  
Gilbert looked down, then scuffed the toe of his boot in the snow. “I have something to give you.” He looked up at Anne. “Mind if I sit?” He gestured to the tree she was sitting on.  
Anne shrugged. “I don’t mind.”  
Gilbert sat down next to Anne on the tree, leaving just a few inches of space between the two of them. “So, it’s Valentine’s Day.”  
Anne sighed. “I know. It’s truly the worst Valentine’s Day ever.”  
Gilbert smiled slightly. “So, I kind of have something I need to tell you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. As he took the paper out of his pocket, their elbow brushed, and despite the fact that it was barely any contact at all, Anne felt her heartbeat pick up. She had no idea why she was suddenly so nervous around Gilbert.  
He handed her the paper, and she took it, turning it over in her hands.  
“So,” Gilbert said. “I was going to leave that note on your desk today while you were eating lunch.”  
“Oh?” Anne said, confused as to where this was going.  
“I was _going_ to,” he continued. “But then I saw Billy leaving a note on your desk, and I figured since it was probably the same kind of note that I planned to leave there, it would be best if I just kept the note.”  
“The same kind of note?” Anne asked. “What does that mean?”  
Gilbert looked down at his hands and fiddled with the edge of his glove as if it was suddenly hard for him to make eye contact with her.  
“Gilbert,” Anne said. “What aren’t you telling me? Were you planning on pulling a prank on me, too?”  
Gilbert’s eyes widened. “No! Never. I wouldn’t do that.”  
“Then what’s in the note?” Anne demanded.  
Gilbert let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s a, uh, confession.”  
Anne felt her breath catch, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. It could be any kind of confession. A confession of hate. A confession of murder. It could be anything. “A confession of what, Gilbert?”  
He sighed. “A confession of my feelings. My feelings for you.”  
Anne felt a blush creeping up her neck. “Oh.” She said, unsure of how to respond. “What does it say?”  
“It’s a quote. From _Jane Eyre_.” Gilbert looked up as if he was wracking his memory for the quote. “‘I have for the first time found what I can truly love -- I have found you.’” His voice caught on the word love, breaking slightly. “I know you like _Jane Eyre_.”  
“It’s one of my favorite books,” Anne confirmed, her voice quiet.  
Gilbert reached into his pocket again, pulling out a small package wrapped in white tissue paper. “I know it’s probably too much to buy someone a gift for Valentine’s Day, but when I saw this in the store a few days ago, I thought of you.”  
He handed the gift to Anne, who lifted it gingerly from his hands and unwrapped the tissue paper. Inside the paper sat a white handkerchief, embroidered with bright, beautiful, colored flowers. Anne looked back up at Gilbert, a smile lighting up her face.  
“It’s beautiful!” She exclaimed.  
Gilbert grinned. “I just thought that since I couldn’t pick flowers to give you for Valentine’s Day -- seeing as the ground is still covered in snow -- this would suffice.”  
Anne looked down at the handkerchief, and she ran the fabric through her fingers, tracing over the flowers with her thumb. “Thank you, Gilbert. Really.”  
She glanced up at him, and their eyes met, and this time, she didn’t look away.  
“Anne,” he said. “I know you probably don’t feel the same, but, in case I haven’t already made it clear…” He took a deep breath. “I like you. I know you don’t think of yourself as the kind of girl that people fall in love with, because of -- what? -- your looks?” He shook his head. “I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Besides that, you’re so intelligent, Anne. I know you’re going to beat me in class someday. You have the most wonderful imagination. You make all the dull, ordinary things around us into beautiful fantasies. You’re the brightest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re brighter and more beautiful than all the stars in the sky, Anne. And I really like you. I know you don’t feel the same about me, but I’m telling you this now in hopes that maybe, someday, you might feel the same.”  
Anne didn’t know what to say. She had no idea how to respond to his confession of love. She felt like she could barely breathe. The way he confessed to her was _exactly_ how she always pictured her true love confessing to her, and that made her nervous.  
When it was clear that she wasn’t going to say anything, Gilbert stood up. “I’m really sorry, Anne. It was awful of me to say all of that. I shouldn’t have said everything that I wanted to say because it was probably too much. Now you’re not talking to me, and that’s probably because, either you really hate me, or you hate everything I just said.” He pulled at the sleeves of his coat as if he was trying to disappear into the material. “Can I at least walk you home?”  
Anne looked up at Gilbert, and she felt a pang in her heart at the sight of him looking so distraught, thinking he had hurt her. Suddenly, a thought raced into her mind. The nervousness that she felt around him -- the blushing, the racing heart -- it wasn’t because she hated him. It was because she liked him. And while this seemed like a new revelation to her, she realized that she’d known her feelings for a while now, but just hadn’t wanted to admit them. She knew exactly what to tell him.  
She stood up, brushing off her dress. “Gilbert,” she said, turning to face him. “I don’t hate you, and I don’t hate any of what you just said. In fact, I liked all of it. And, I like you, as much as I hate to admit it.”  
A smile crept across Gilbert’s face, and Anne realized how close they were standing. “So…” he said. “You don’t hate me?”  
Anne sighed. “No. I...I like you. I like everything about you.” She paused. “Well, almost everything.”  
Gilbert grinned. “That’s good to know.”  
Anne laughed softly. “Is it?”  
“Yeah,” Gilbert nodded. “It is.”  
They then settled into a comfortable silence, looking at each other. Both of their hearts were racing, wondering what they were to do now.  
“Anne?”  
“Gilbert.”  
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Gilbert took a small step closer to Anne.  
Anne smiled, looking down at the ground, then looking back up at Gilbert. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she replied, her voice almost a whisper.  
And then Gilbert was leaning in, and so was Anne, and they kissed, quickly -- so quickly that it might have never happened.  
But it did.


End file.
